Cheers, Professor!
by Miss Comical
Summary: Emmy recieved a mysterious package in the mail addressed to Professor Layton himself with little info on identity or even location of the sender. Feeling she had little choice, she decided to pay the Professor a little visit in order to figure it out, but little did she know of the adventure waiting for her afterwards. Rated T for some minor swearing in the future.
1. Chapter 1

The buildings and shadowy figures of London passed by in the early dusk. The young assistant sped through the streets, nimbly dodging the traffic in her direction on her trusty scooter. Most that were watching the spectacle could only assume she was in a hurry. And indeed she was. There was news to be told, and it would seem rather urgent.

Earlier today, she received a package and letter that was apparently addressed to Professor Layton himself. Moreover, she wondered exactly why it was mailed to her, and rather if it was just a mistake on the sender's part. Emmy's own intuition could only assume that she needed to be involved in some way, even if it was to just deliver the package to the professor.

Her scooter came to a stop in front of the Gressenheller University. The lady in yellow pulled out the package carefully whilst reaching for the envelope. After pulling her helmet off and putting it in the compartment of her motorcycle, she looked around the campus.

"Geez, the fog's really starting to roll in," Emmy muttered to herself. "Hopefully the professor's still around."

After making a mental note about the misty evening, she strolled her way in.

The cleaning lady, Rosa walked out from the halls with a yawn, obviously tired and leaving for the night.

"Hi there Rosa! Is the Professor still here and awake?"

"Oh yes, I just got finished tidying up a bit in his office. Be a dear and make sure it doesn't get too messy again, would you?"

Emmy giggled, knowing the normal state of his office. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to keep the place as spic and span as you left it."

The woman sighed in relief. "Thanks a lot, Emmy dear... To say that man is very organized when teaching, he isn't organized where it should also be. You take care, now."

"Thanks, you too!" She waved her off as she began walking to his office. Once reaching to the right door, she politely knocked.

The professor answered with a smile. "Ah, yes. Come in."

Layton was hard at work, looking the research essays of his students. He furrowed his brow, checking for any signs of errors. Emmy gave another giggle on her way in.

"I'm guessing you're just spending the evening with your usual papers, Professor?"

He chuckled in response. "These are essays this time around, Miss Altava. Fairly different than the usual, I'd say."

"Hardly. And please, call me Emmy, as usual." She set down the box on the couch with a light grunt before plopping down herself. "Phew. Glad I caught you before it was too late."

"Right, right. My apologies. Something bothering you, Emmy?"

She opened her mouth for a moment before closing it again. It was hard to assess rather the package was truly bothering her, but it definitely peaked her interest, and she thought Layton is the best man to show.

"Well, not 'bother', but I have something to show you."

After Layton finished off grading one of the essays, he moved the stack aside, making room for the package. After placing box onto the table, they both looked at it in anticipation.

"Oh yeah, there was a letter that came with it too. " She handed the envelope to him and fiddled with the camera hanging from her neck with eagerness.

"Intriguing..." He opened the letter to give the letter a nice glance.

_Dear Professor Layton,_

_Rather than appearing myself,_

_I sent you a nice box of tea._

_Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy._

_Kindred of mine you may not be,_

_Upton's tea seemed rather good to me._

_Please enjoy._

_ - An admirer_

Layton raised a brow. "Well, this is certainly peculiar. Seems to be a poem of sorts."

Emmy leaned a bit on his shoulder for a better view. "Oh excuse me, Professor. Just needed a good look too."

"Not a problem, Emmy. I think you should read this too. It seems to be rather straightforward with its message, wouldn't you agree?"

She mumbled a bit as she read the letter. She frowned slightly."The only thing forward I see about the letter is someone's got their little eye on you. Don't have a clue as to why it was sent to me, though."

"Look closer, Emmy, my dear. I think you may have missed something."

She took a closer look at the puzzle deeper within. "Drink...up?"

Layton gave a smile. "I do believe you've got it. 'Drink up'. So I suppose whatever tea was sent, we'd have to drink it in order to figure out exactly what is asked of us."

She wrapped an arm around his neck, giving a smirk back. "Sounds like a perfect case for you, wouldn't you say, professor?"

He adjusted his hat. "Indeed. Well, shall we give it a try?"

After a few minutes of unwrapping Emmy opened up the package to show an elegantly decorated mahogany box filled with different ingredients as well as a recipe list. After setting the water to boil, she looked back at the ingredients.

"Most of these are some pretty high-end stuff..." she mumbled before getting the teakettle to boil.

He overheard her mumble. "Then I'm sure the tea will be great, if the ingredients are just right, that is."

After a bit of talking, the teakettle finally gave its whistle. The duo looked toward each other in wait. It's now or never.

Once the ingredients were put together, the brew was ready for a taste.

The gentleman, gave a sniff. "Hmm... Smells particularly sweet."

She smelled it as well. "Mmm...~ I'll say. Well, down the hatch." She raised her teacup. "Wanna toast, professor?"

Layton smiled. It's all in good fun. Why not? "Very well." He raised his.

_Clink!_

They both drank at once. How sweet tasting it was. So sweet that it was almost... bittersweet?

"I...feel a bit sleepy..." The female rubbed her eyes.

"...As...As do I...Emmy..."

The room began to spin. Soon after, their eyes grew heavier to the point of no return. Maybe tea wasn't a great idea, or rather... maybe delivered tea wasn't the best idea.


	2. Chapter 2

Emmy's head was really spinning. She could barely open her eyes to deal with the bright light of fluorescent bulbs lining the ceiling. The most she can rely on at the moment is her keen sense of smell, hearing, and touch.

All she heard was a very light snore. As to be expected. Layton was really hit hard with the effects of the tea as well, so it's only to assume that he's still asleep. She inwardly cringed at the thought of if the effect was a lot more severe. It _was_ technically her fault they were both put to sleep on short notice.

Her inward cringe went outward as she grabbed the nearest thing in her way. ...It seemed mysteriously soft and firm. She supposed that was the couch. She gave a sigh.

"_Now what? Once he wakes up, I can't tell if he'll be upset for losing time, or upset because I delivered sleeping tea,_" she thought.

Emmy took the time to take a deep breath. The air seemed... different. It smelled remotely like cinnamon and various spice. It was vaguely sweet, almost enough to make her hungry. She licked her lips. It's pretty yummy, she'll admit that much.

Her "pillow" moved a bit within the rise and fall of his breathing. She mumbled a bit about the professor not having good couch before opening her eyes to adjust to the lighting once more. Once the bright lights have settled, she noticed a top hat drooping over the eyes of the male figure she clutched onto.

Her blush slowly appeared, as she sat there, uncharacteristically frozen in her tracks. "_No sudden moves now, Emmy. A lady shouldn't wake a gentleman from his nap. That'd be terrible considering he doesn't always get it throughout the week._"

After a moment to calm down, she slowly got up from the couch to stretch and checked the time.

"_About 15 minutes till 7:00 AM. His first class would start at 7:30..._" She looked back at his slumped, sleeping form.

She took the time to look around the office a bit more. There seems to be something strange that was going on. Emmy proceeded to look along the desk to find the box that was with the tea ingredients completely missing as well as the whole room being rearranged.

"Well, it's a lot cleaner in here..." she murmured. "Considering a good chunk of the room's empty!"

And she was right, a portion of the room's possessions is missing. And not only that...

She gasped. "The case files are gone!"

It was then that Layton gave an audible yawn as he blinked his eyes open. "What seems to be missing?"

Emmy frowned a bit. She honestly hates seeing the professor disappointed. "Well... the files I made for all the previous cases are entirely gone..."

For a split moment, she thought she saw a flash of worry in his eyes, but it was replaced quickly with firm determination.

"Is that so? Well, this is quite perplexing... Especially considering that the room doesn't even look like it was searched entirely. In fact, it appears as if the perpetrator made the time to only take what was deemed necessary to halt any sort of investigative actions."

Emmy quickly pulled out a notebook and proceeded to jot it down for reference.

"I kinda noticed whoever did this had a pretty good knowledge of where everything is, or took some time to map out the office before taking anything too."

Layton nodded. "That would appear true as well."

The lady in yellow sighed. "Well, now what, professor? Your first class starts in a little less than thirty minutes now."

After a few minutes of silence, Rosa knocked on the door and poked her head in. "Sorry dears, I'm a little late with cleaning today. ...My, it's cleaner than I expected in here." She looked around curiously.

Emmy looked over to her. "Oh hey, Rosa. Yeah... someone broke in while we both were asleep last night."

Rosa gasped. "Well, that's just terrible! Who would do such a thing?"

Layton folded his arms in deep thought. "That is the very question we're trying to answer ourselves, Rosa. Did you see anyone on your way out from my office yesterday evening, by any chance?"

She responded in a slight frown. "I was speaking to Mr. Delmona a bit about the foggy evening, then I spoke a bit with Emmy here before I left. I'm afraid I didn't see anything out of the ordinary."

"I see. Doesn't sound out of the ordinary to me either."

Emmy proceeded to sigh. "Hey, Professor, don't worry about them. I mean, I can always just look over some info in my previous notebooks and just redo the case files again. It's no big deal."

Layton shook his head. "Of course it's a 'big deal'. Emmy, you worked hard to sustain a suitable amount of info on each outing I've done as well as put in some detail of each person I've met for each. You've even updated them as much as I could ever do. I can't possibly allow you to do so much work again."

Her cheeks tinged a slight pink from the recognition. "Ah geez, well, y-y'know, that's what an assistant is there for. You gather info, I organize them to where it'll be useful for later... That sort of thing... " Her face returned to a serious demeanor. "Look, I just don't want you blowing over a class or two over something simple."

He then held an index finger up. "On the contrary, Emmy, I think this is far more complicated than you'd anticipate. In addition to taking vital information, you shall notice that a few things are missing as well. The box with the ingredients, and a few other papers crowding my room. In other words, my class schedule, my calendar, and most importantly, my briefcase... "

Both Rosa and Emmy gasp. The young woman spoke in her surprise. "B-But doesn't that mean you're with no info whatsoever? All of the things you need are... completely gone!"

"That makes this much more than a petty theft. But fear not, I do have something in case some information go missing..." He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a small and slender book.

"This, Emmy, is my personal schedule booklet," he said in a hush tone.

His eyes diverted to another part of the room before looking back at her. "As you can see, it comes complete with a calendar and a memo pad."

Emmy sighed a bit in relief. "So when everything else goes missing or you're away from the office..."

"I shall always know exactly what I should be doing at all times, yes," he finished.

As he handed the booklet over to her, she gave a confused stare.

"Ah... professor, why are you giving this to me? Don't you need to keep it so you know what to do today? Or well, ever?"

Professor nodded. "That I do. However, they will be looking for this exact thing if I were to go out now... So I'm entrusting this to you. I hope to see that it doesn't go into the wrong hands."

She looked at the pocket book. It was hard to believe that most movements of Layton's was actually in this very book she held. It almost felt heavy and foreign as she continued to fiddle with it.

She gave a noble smile. "Don't worry professor, I'll make sure no one has eyes or hands on this. You can count on me!"


	3. Chapter 3

Well, since I haven't been around much. Here's a nice long chapter from me to you.

* * *

His heart raced as he dashed through the crowded London streets. His stomach felt as if someone jabbed a knife into it relentlessly with no intent on ever stopping. He shouldn't have ate that huge breakfast before hopping on a train to London. There would be no way he could stand all the running he'd do afterward. Or so he thought.

Luke wanted to surprise Professor Layton by popping an unexpected visit. His father didn't approve of him going all alone on a train without any supervision, but after his constant pleas, he begrudgingly obliged as long as he would receive a phone call to know he reached his destination.

He was overjoyed. What better way to show the Professor and his father that he was a responsible apprentice/son than to take the train himself and even treat the Professor to lunch with his hard-earned allowance? After getting off his train he made a stroll over to the college, cheerful and upbeat as any person can be. Once arriving, a shadowy figure shoved him aside as he ran from the entrance.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" he yelled at him. "There's no need to shove, y'know!"

He adjusted his eyes to the small paper trail that was left behind and picked up one of the loose sheets. Luke murmured as he read. It looked a lot like one of the case files Emmy made especially for Layton as a surprise for finishing another complex case given to him. He remembered this fairly well since he helped her by staying up with her throughout the night she was working on it, giving her cups of coffee. He stored the papers away in his bag and began following the trail, picking it up as he scrambled toward the source.

The cloaked individual kept his pace to make sure the child was following no longer. However, this plan failed miserably as the boy in blue was hot on the heels.

"I know exactly what you did, you thief! You stole these from the Professor, didn't you? Give them back now!"

Luke lunged at the figure and wrestled with the files it clutched on to. The boy wasn't going to let this person have all the Professor's things, not on his watch. As the two have their showdown, some people on the street stopped what they were doing and looked toward the spectacle before them. After the cloaked figure realized it was being watched by the public, he immediately pulled back his foot and gave a swift, but powerful kick to the boy's stomach causing him to fall and double over in pain. To ensure he stayed down, he gave another powerful kick to his back.

"Gah! Ugghh..." Luke sniffed, struggling to keep the tears in. The pain was enough to stun a grown man, let alone a child.

What a terrible thing for a person to do. It's obvious this person doesn't really take regard to children, or anyone for that matter. The hooded figure used this as an opportunity to escape and bolted off through the busy streets. It didn't need a troublesome, nosy child ruining plans. It was too far to get caught, now that the wheels were set in motion. Perhaps this would be the time to ask to be released from this awful idea once this part was complete.

While Layton was busy with his classes, Emmy decided it was the time to go outside and perhaps think a bit further about everything that transpired through the night. As far as she knows, the ingredients were for a fact drugged to put her and the Professor asleep. During their forced slumber, the thief made off with some of the Professor's things. Nothing of monetary value, which is what confused her the most.

"Most thefts usually involve something that is worth money. As much as Professor and I value the case files and the scheduling, it's still not worth getting the police involved as they'd only think that it was lost or misplaced..." she sighed as she walked out of the college.

The streets seemed busy as usual. Everyone is in a hurry to get where they need to go, except for a small group that seem frozen in place. Emmy cocked a brow in confusion. That would seem normal if they didn't appear frightened. She approached them.

"Hi there. What seems to be the trouble?"

A woman turned toward her. "A child wearing a blue cap was just kicked to the ground by some brutal asshole! The nerve of people these days..."

Emmy ignored the cursing, now knowing what happened. "Luke... Tell me, where is he?"

"Right in the plaza area..." she pointed out in the distance. "Be careful though, I think that person is still skulking about as we speak."

"Thanks!" Emmy dodged the crowd, charging to the plaza.

All Luke heard was people clamoring about what happened. He groaned in pain. If only he was stronger, he thought. Maybe he'd really do the Professor a favor and get the case files back. He would have been able to take such a simple kick. He heard his name being called by a feminine voice.

"E-Emmy? Is that...you?" he called out in agony.

"Yes! Goodness, Luke, what did you do!?"

"..." He was in complete silence for a moment before murmuring. "It hurts, Emmy..."

She picked him up. "You don't have to say anything else. Let's get you to the Professor's office so you can rest."

Emmy carried Luke through the streets, the air now sullen and sad. She looked down at his curled form. Underneath the courageous and smart exterior was still a young boy. He was scuffed up from whoever kicked him. He held in another tear, doing his best not to cry. After seeing this, she took off his hat and proceeded to pet his head gently, trying her best to sooth him.

"I'm so sorry..." was all she could say.

Upon reaching the school, she walked through the halls on the way to Layton's office, dodging the oncoming students from the morning classes. She didn't need them seeing what happened to Luke. The said boy looked up to Emmy with a concerned look on his face.

"Emmy, someone was taking all those notes you worked so hard on..."

She stopped right in front of the office door and looked down to him. "W-what? You saw who broke into the professor's office!?"

His face, although still contorted with pain, turned serious and determined. "Yeah, he's the same thug that I tried to stop before getting all beaten up..." he reached into his bag and showed her a few papers that were littered in the town.

She looked at them, her brows now furrowed. Those are definitely them. Without a doubt. Who stole them though is beyond what she can interpret, for now at least.

"...Let's get you over to the Professor's office. Hopefully whatever happened wasn't too bad..."

Boy, that was quite a class period. For once, everyone seemed so intrigued about the lessons that questions bounced back and forth, something the professor happily obliged answering. He nearly forgot to survey for suspicious activity. Nearly.

He thought it over carefully. And now that he did put his mind to work... He believe he saw something. Albeit, short-lived, and almost negligible, he noticed a figure outside. The person was walking past, no, to the window to watch what was going on. Upon being noticed, he, or she, vanished without a trace.

Layton nodded his head, recalling the event. That was indeed what happened. However, he could not make the details out. He supposed he would use the break he had till his later classes to think this over, with a cup of tea, of course.

He smiled a bit to himself, thinking of which recipe he should use today. Something sweet? No... he had that last night. ...Before blacking out , that is. ...Perhaps something on the spicy sweet side to perk up the senses this time around. Hopefully whatever ingredients he uses won't be tainted again. Although he doubted it, given that he ensured that everything else in his office wasn't tampered with. Especially his mini icebox where all other food based items were stored.

Upon reaching his office, he opens the door, not ready to see the results.

Emmy was seen examining a fairly large bruise Luke sustained on his stomach. Layton quickly made his way inside, his fists surprisingly clenched and his mouth near agape. He sighed, trying to calm his nerves, a gentleman never makes a scene.

"Luke, what in heaven's name happened to you, my boy?"

The boy looked up to Layton. "Sorry Professor... I was following the person that was trying to steal Emmy's case files... and I guess you can say I got a kick out of it..."

He frowned. "A far bit more than 'a kick' it seems. Whoever did this certainly had malicious intent to keep others from knowing what plans were being made with those files as well as my schedules."

Luke gave a wide-eyed stare. "W-Wait! Did you say they took something else?"

The professor closed his eyes solemnly. "Indeed. All of the case files, my suitcase, and the calendar with my schedules are all gone."

Emmy folded her arms and shook her head. "And now Luke's hurt. Ugh... When I get my hands on the person that did this, they'll wish they'd never cross us."

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see it was the Professor. "I'd much rather not... We don't need you getting hurt as well."

"But Luke..."

"I'll be fine! Really. Don't worry about it!" He put a hand to his stomach and winced. "O-oow, ow, ow, ow..."

Emmy gave a sigh of surrender. "Fine." Making her way to the refrigerator, she then began searching for something cold enough to put over the bruise.

A bag of peas? Good enough, she supposed. The Professor must have refurbished his room with some new things since his last paycheck. She didn't remember seeing this in the room from her last visit.

After she gently placed it on his stomach, he immediately hissed in pain. "Ooow..."

"Just take it easy, someone did quite a number on you."

Layton proceeded to nod. "It is in your best interest that you rest for a while so the bruise can begin to heal."

"Aw come on, I traveled all this way all by myself just to sit on a couch all day? That's really disappointing..."

"I know, Luke. But, I ask that you do so for now. I don't want you hurting yourself when moving around. ...In the meanwhile, let's have some tea. I'm sure everyone's riled nerves, we could all use something soothing to calm us."

Emmy blinked, a bit astonished. "I honestly thought after last night's fiasco, you'd never touch a teacup again!"

The man turned to look at her as if she'd have mentioned something unheard of. "Me? Not ever drinking tea again? Don't be silly, Emmy, dear," he chuckled jovially.

"B-But I didn't know about the sleeping-"

"It's fine, nothing too terrible happened to us, and that's the important thing."

She frowned and gave a sigh. As long as he's not mad, she shouldn't be worried. But exactly the opposite worries her the most. Perhaps she's overreacting, placing too much blame upon herself. Her mind goes to ease again; she was definitely putting a bit more stress on herself than usual. Though it cannot be helped. Something's amiss here...

_Knock, knock, knock._

The man in brown looked to the knocking door. "Yes, come in."

The clicking of her heels echoed the room. She made sure that the books she held was pulled tightly over her chest to make it much more noticeable. As she slowed to a stop in front of the Professor, she gave a seductive smirk.

"Hiya Mr. L, great lesson today. That was _really_ passionate teaching."

He turned to her and tipped his hat slightly in gratitude. "Thank you, Rosetta. I assume you had a few questions from earlier you weren't able to ask?"

She nodded. "Well, that and a little more..._tutoring, _if you don't mind. There was a whole lot I didn't get to understand last time since you had some important business to do. Mind if we get right to it before your next-" she paused and turned to both Emmy and Luke seated on the couch. "Oh. I didn't know you had guests..." she said, obviously dismayed her advances wouldn't go too much further.

Emmy frowned. "Well, excuse us for existing."

Luke murmured in disgust, "It's the maneater again..."

She made a confused and surprised look at Luke and whispered, "Luke, you know her? That's pretty rude to call a woman that y'know."

Luke shook his head. "Trust me, she's...wily when the Professor's around."

"Pardon?"

"Just watch. You'll understand soon."

Layton looked over to Emmy and Luke as they whispered in conversation. He then turned to her and extended his distance between her as he noticed her getting closer to him. "Why, yes, I do have guests, but I'm sure they won't be much trouble while we go over a few things."

Emmy, wanting to help the "eager" student, jumped into the conversation. "Not at all. In fact, I happen to know a lot about the Professor's lesson plan, as an assistant and all, so I'm more than happy to help you with whatever's confusing."

Rosetta gave a look of annoyance to the brunette. "Thanks, but I don't think you're really... qualified to be tutoring me. Besides, I understand a lot more when he's teaching me."

Being a bit offended, the woman in yellow retaliated. "Is that so? Well, just why exactly am I not qualified? Do you think I'm stupid?"

"'Stupid' is such a...harsh, but true word, I was thinking... 'intellectually challenged'."

An eye twitched. She smiled and laughed a little, to hide her growing anger. "Heh, right. Well, I'm just probably being the third wheel here, but I'm more than capable of tutoring than you think. As a matter of fact, the Professor has allowed me to take over for him from time to time. Isn't that right?"

Layton, starting to feel the growing tension, spoke cautiously to avoid the minefield. "That is right. She's tutored quite a few of the students and they've done massive improvements on their tests."

"I understand, but, I love the way he teaches the most. I'd rather not have anyone else," she grasped his hand.

The man recoiled slightly from her awkward touch, and did his best to gently recede his hand. "Yes, well... I'd be delighted to help you, Rosetta. That is a teacher's job after all."

Emmy pursed her lips a bit and crossed her arms, muttering, "There should be boundaries to a student-teacher relationship..."

She then proceeded to ask, "Well then, how was class today?"

Rosetta raised an eyebrow at her. "Eh?"

"Well, since your 'questions' weren't answered, I guess the class was really busy today, huh?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, duh. Everyone was asking a lot of questions and junk. They were a lot perkier than usual. Like they all just drank this miracle coffee that made them come back to life. Not like I need it with the Prof here. His class is always fun to be in."

The brunette frowned. This doesn't sound too out of the ordinary, but she still was a bit skeptical

"Anyway, I hope that I can come back on your off hours and you can tutor me then. Just, you know, without the chatty canary and company, don't wanna get too distracted from that_ reeeeally_ hard lesson you'd give," she winked and strutted out.

"Canary!? Why that little skank-" she started to follow her out to teach her some manners.

The brown suited man gently held on to her shoulder with a hand to halt any movement and shook his head. "Even if the other is rude, a true lady always remains polite and patient."

Luke shrugged, knowing all too well it was better for him not to speak around her. "Hate to say 'I told you so', but... "

The "canary" sighed with aggravation. "Yeah, yeah. I get it now..."


End file.
